Often in our society when a violent confrontation is about to happen I have noticed something.. its kind of a norm in interpersonal interaction which people get locked into by habit and also fear.

Often an attacker will try to initially throw you off buy speaking to you as he closes the distance. It could be anything: rude comments, harassing comments etc. Or questions designed to make you feel like YOU are the problem and why he needs to attack you.

So, simple strategy: Don't interact verbally. The only verbal things coming out of your mouth should be "get away from me" or "stop" etc. Don't lock your brain up into dialogue mode (which takes more brain power than you think and it distracts you from the fight mindset).

Doing this can (not always) throw your opponent off and make you seem more unpredictable. It could keep them from becoming violent.

Now Warning: this can be EXTREMELY awkward. A person engaging you in dialogue expects you to interact with them and play "their game". They will demand your attention and reaction and might become even more verbally aggressive. Don't give into it. Focus on their body movements, the environment and the movement of others around you. Your in fight mindset mode.

The other thing to take away from the article is not just "fight your opponent in places where they are weak" but "never let the fact that this strategy is kicking the enemy's ass go to your head and let you think that you can take him in a straight up fight."